A Bid For Love
by LysCat
Summary: A short Valentines Day story. The LVPD, crime lab and LVFD come together to raise money for Child Haven through a dating auction. Snickers goodness!


Title: A Bid For Love

Author: Alysia

Category: Alternate Universe

Couple: Nick and Sara

Summery: This idea has just been plaguing me for months, and I figured what better time to write it then for Valentines Day. The fire department, police department and the crime lab pull together to host a date auction to raise money for Child Haven.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CSI characters.

"Thank you so much again Sara," Catherine Willows thanked as the two women stood outside the banquet hall that had been booked for them.

Sara Sidle only nodded. She knew that Catherine could be very persuasive. She would have rather worked as a co-host for the auction rather then action herself off. She had enough bad luck with men on an everyday occurrence, the last thing she needed was to be placed in a situation that she couldn't control. She knew that she wouldn't have been able to stand it if someone like Hodges was her highest bidder. "Trust me, compared to the job I could have had, I don't mind."

Catherine let out a little laugh as she handed over quite a few index cards. "I know that you said you'd write down the list, but I figured this was more neat then your chicken scratch."

Sara rolled her eyes at the criticism. "Okay," she replied as she reached for the introduction cards.

Catherine looked to her watch. "Where is everyone?" She demanded. There were only fifteen minutes to spare before the auction was supposed to start. "I'm going to call them, I'll be back shortly."

At the older woman's exit, Sara turned her attention to the index cards in her hands. She glanced through the names and descriptions, only really recognizing the names from the people that worked at the lab.

"Hey there sexy," a husky southern drawl was heard. Sara spun around and smiled at the approaching Nick Stokes, blushing when he whistled. "Too bad you're not going to be in the auction. I'd spend every penny I have on you."

"Yeah sure," she excused, all the while smiling. She drank in his appearance. Never before had she seen him in a black suite, and she had to admit that she liked the look very much. It was complimented with his red shirt and finished off by the black satin tie. Since Nick's return to the job, he gone through two different looks. First, when he grew the mustache, which Sara had to admit she had grown fond of. Now, he wore his hair with bangs. It was so completely different from what she had seen the last five years, but in that suite, she couldn't admit how handsomely delicious he was.

"See something you like?" Nick asked with a pleased smirk kissing his lips. He hadn't minded on bit at her perusal.

Nodding her head, Sara smiled in a flirty way. "Oh yeah."

Continuing on with the game, Nick stepped closer to her. "My view isn't so bad either," he confessed.

At hearing the husky tone his voice had taken on, Sara couldn't help but wonder if he was actually being serious. She felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She had bought the dress months ago, but she hadn't been able to wear it yet. It was a short sleeved dress cut in a v-neck. The material flowed out into an A-line skirt that stopped just above her knees. It was a rich, blood red color with black lace covering it. Her hair was tossed up into a flattering way and she had applied more make up then she ever used on an everyday occurrence.

"Seriously Sara, you really should have agreed to be in the action," Nick told her seriously. She deserved to have a nice time that night, and he had a feeling that if she was going to be bid on, that quite a few men would make offers.

Sara shrugged. "I'll be fine." The two were interrupted when Catherine returned with the rest of the participants in tow.

"I thought you might have flaked out," Catherine admitted when she spotted Nick. She'd been worried when she found everyone else but him waiting in the lobby.

"Never," the Texan denied. "I needed a date for tonight."

Sara rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Warrick Brown. "I think we should head inside."

Warrick stepped closer to Sara. "Wow, you are...breathtaking." He knew that Sara could never really take a compliment that wasn't tied to work, so he added a joke on. "Too bad I'm a married man."

"Why thank you," she replied in small tone. "Okay..." she spun around to the participants. "Do you all know what order you're coming in?" At their nods, Sara returned the action. "Remember, we're helping to raise money for Child Haven, so be as enchanting as possible," she reminded them. Before meeting up with Warrick at the door, she turned to Nick and immediately began straightening out his tie. The crookedness of it had been nagging at her. "Well, go out there and have fun." She grabbed Warrick's arm and locked her own with his as they entered the room.

"Thank you for coming out and participating in this," Warrick said as he and Sara stepped up to the podium.

"What a great turn out," Sara observed as she looked around the room. "This is the first Valentine's Day Date Auction that we've held. Every year, the fire department and the PD do separate charity raising..."

"Both end up making a good amount," Warrick broke in.

"But we figured hey, why not try something together for once?"

Warrick nodded. "Since we've liquored all of you up, feel free to spread the wealth," he joked. "So here's how this works...one lady or gentlemen will come in and it's up to the rest of you to bid on them, the amount will start at fifty dollars."

Sara smiled into the crowd. "Are we ready?"

Around the room, catcalls were heard, causing both of the hosts to chuckle. Every time someone was introduced, they came waltzing in the room in a memorable way to catch attention, often resulting in whistles and catcalls from the anxious audience.

An hour into it, they were drawing to a close. With Sophia Curtis outbidding the rest of the women in the crowd for Gil Grissom, only Nick was left.

Having taken turns speaking that night to introduce people, Warrick began reading Nick's card.

As expected, Nick drew in a lot of attention. Women in the audience went crazy at seeing him, applauding even more as he began dancing to the song being played. Sara's attention was drawn to her attractive coworker, wishing (not for the first time) that she out in the audience so she could bid for him. She chuckled at the show he was providing, reveling in the wink he tossed her as he bounced up on the stage before turning around to the sea of admirers.

"We'll start the bidding off at fifty," Warrick began.

"Fifty!"

"Fifty-five!"

"Sixty!"

"Seventy-five!"

The bidding continued on until they reached two hundred and forty dollars. Next to Warrick, Sara stared out to the made up blonde that was reigning champion of the round. The woman was pretty enough, Sara allowed, but completely artifical, so not right for Nick.

"We have two hundred and forty follars," Warrick said. "Do we have Two hundred and forty-five?"

Making a quick decision, Sara stepped closer to Nick. She was not about to allow Botox Barbie walk away with Nick. "Two hundred fifty," she breathed out.

At her unexpected entrance, all attention turned to Sara. She refused to looked at the crowd, instead, she held her gaze steady with a confused Nick Stokes.

"Two hundred and seventy five dollars!" The blonde called out desperately, not like the way that the co-host was staring at the participant.

Without removing her gaze from Nick's, Sara out bid the woman again.

"Three hundred and fifteen dollars," the same woman argued back.

Sara licked her lips and smiled over to Nick. "Five hundred and fourteen dollars and eleven cents," she announced breathlessly.

A sea of murmurs erupted from the various crime lab employees through out the audience .

Warrick shook his head at the scene that had just unfolded. "Any other offers?" When no one said anything, he turned to couple once again. "Going once...going twice...sold to the lovely Sara Sidle!" All the while, he shook his head in disappointment. Leave it to Nick and Sara to make things complicated. He didn't care how special someone was, there was no way in his right mind he would spend five hundred dollars for them when they could wait and finally get together for free.

Nick and Sara stepped closer to each other, Nick was feeling humbled at the amount that Sara was willing to pay for him. Sara could only smile at him, still feeling the adrenaline from her bidding competition.

"Sara." Nick couldn't say anything else. He hoped that his tone held the various emotions he was feeling. Hope, wonderment, awe, fear, pleasure, love and most importantly, delight.

Sara nodded. "I had to."

Nick leaned down and laid his forehead again hers. "Why didn't you say something?" He whispered, fearing that if he spoke any louder that it would ruin the moment. "You could have had me for free..."

Emotion welled up inside Sara. She coughed out a noise that in between a laugh and a sob. "I didn't think you'd want me," she confessed.

Nick's heart pounded. "How could I not?" He'd been enamored with Sara since she first arrived in Vegas. When her attention went to Hank Pedigrew and then Grissom, Nick forced his own feelings aside. Their friendship had evolved and taken on a playful banter that he didn't share with anyone else.

"Are we really going to do this?" Sara asked in wonderment.

"Well," Nick shrugged. "You did pay five hundred dollars for me...the least I could do is make sure you get your money's worth," he waggled his eyebrows playfully.

"How far does that go?" Sara asked, playing along with him.

"As far as you want," he replied, leaving the comment open ended. He didn't want her to feel as though he pressuring her for anything. Being smart, he let her know that she held all the cards.

"Why you couldn't have done this when there wasn't an auction going on is beyond me," Warrick interrupted, smiling for his friends' new found happiness. "Are the two of you gonna' kiss or what?"

Nick and Sara both laughed at their tall friend before they turned back to each other, smiles still adorning their faces. Sara shrugged. "The man does have a point," she allowed. "You haven't kissed me yet..."

She didn't have to tell him more then once! Nick anxiously laid his lips against hers. Their meeting was electric. Passions engulfed them as their arms wove around the other person in effort to pull them closer.

"Tonight has been amazing," Sara told Nick as they stood at her door. She never thought that she would find the guts to act on her attraction for the southern man.

Nick nodded, knowing exactly how Sara felt. The entire evening had felt surreal to him as well.

Sara played with her keys. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so nervous at the end of a date. Looking up at him through her long lashes, she gathered up some courage. "Do you want to come in?" She didn't want to make him think that she was offering up more then she was willing to give, but she just didn't want the night to end.

"I'd love to," he accepted politely. Sara opened her door and let him hin, locking it behind them. At the first opportunity, she kicked off her ridiculously high heeled shoes and put on her pink slippers.

"God ahead and have a seat," she told him softly. "I'm just going to make some coffee."

Nick took a seat on her couch as she urged, his eyes never faltering from her form as she danced around her kitchen fiddling around.

Minutes later, Sara walked in carrying a tea set on a tray. "I wasn't sure if you wanted any so I brought an extra cup," she informed him as she laid the tray down on her coffee table before she moved around it to grab a seat next to him.

"You are so beautiful," Nick confessed. It had been the only thing on his mind the entire night. He always thought she was, but never before would he have felt so comfortable saying so to her.

Sara blushed. "Nick, tonight has been wonderful, but..."

But. The word rang in Nick's mind. "Was it not what you wanted?" He asked, wondering if he had in some way pressured her.

Sara laid her hand on his arm and smiled sheepishly. "I guess I could have phrased that differently. I just meant that the only reason why you are saying this is because of the way I look tonight. The dress, and hair and make up is not a part of my everyday attire, and I just want you to remember that come tomorrow, I'll be the same old Sara I've always been."

Nick nodded. "I know that," he replied. "I didn't just fall for you tonight," he confessed. "I've been falling for years."

Sara melted at his words. She focused on making her cup of coffee as she asked him her next question. "Years huh? Just how many are you talking about?"

"Well, it's come so slowly, but I had to hazard a guess...I'd say our stimulating conversation of lace over leather."

After sipping her drink, she placed it down and turned to him, her mouth agape. "Why didn't you ever say anything to me?"

Nick stared into her brown orbs. "You know why." The last person he really wanted to discuss was Grissom. While nothing had ever come of it, Sara's attraction to their supervisor had always managed to annoy him. "No matter where we were or what we were doing, it always felt like he was there."

Sara nodded. She'd felt that too. Looking back though, she couldn't help but wonder if she was the one to bring him or if it was a subconscious act on both their parts. She no longer held any sort of attraction for the entomologist, hadn't for a while. Sara moved in closer to Nick and laced their fingers together.

In a bold move, Sara brought his hands to her mouth, kissing each digit gently, all the while never losing eye contact with him. The innocence around them faded as Sara made the first steps to deepen the mood. "I don't feel him now," she confessed in a breathless whisper as her heart pounded against her chest.

Nick's head moved closer to hers. "Me either," he affirmed before his lips crashed down over hers.

"Neither of us wanted the night to end. We were afraid that we go to sleep and wake up in the morning to find that it was all a dream." Sara replayed. It had been two days since the auction, and based on their nights off, this was the first time she had a chance to talk with Catherine about it.

Catherine shook her head, feeling a little envious. It had been so long since the last time she had felt that way. That night, their case had basically solved itself. With minutes to spare before the end of their shift, Catherine finally had the chance to grill Sara. "That is so sweet," she cooed. "So, did you two have sex that night?"

Sara blushed at the bluntness that was Catherine. As she turned around at the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Nope. We just held each other and talked into the early hours before we finally slipped off to sleep. He was perfect gentleman."

"I assume you're talking about me," Nick said as he walked into the break room, making a bee line for Sara.

"Who else would I be talking about?" Sara asked as she felt Nick's arms come around her waist, feeling his front side flush against her back side. She let out a small sigh at the swift open mouthed kiss he lay on the column of her neck.

Catherine watched their intimacy with interest. Their current position offered more then just romance. Their bodies fit together as lovers..."I thought you said you didn't have sex?" She asked, half accusing and half confused.

Nick stepped away from Sara so that they wouldn't get in trouble at work for their extra contact. When Sara turned around smirking, he couldn't help but smile.

Sara nodded. "You didn't ask about that first morning," she hinted.

The End


End file.
